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The Dornier Do 217 was a multi-faceted performer for the German Luftwaffe that ended up fulfilling various roles from bomber to reconnaissance aircraft, aerial test bed to torpedo bomber. The twin-engine 4-man aircraft appeared in prototype form by 1938 and would see several variants exist before the end of the war. The Do 217 was more suited to bomber and reconnaissance duties as the design did not match up well against Allied fighters of most types.

Design of the Do 217 followed along the same lines of earlier Dornier bomber designs. The cockpit and crew areas were situated towards the front of the aircraft resulting in a pencil-type fuselage shape. Engines were mounted on a high-wing monoplane and the vertical tail surface was split in a traditional "T" design. Armament consisted of 2 x 13mm machine guns of MG131 type and a collection of 6 x 7.92mm MG81 machine guns - some held in the noticeable gondola under the fuselage. The Do 217 was capable of carrying an external and internal bombload not exceeding 8,810lbs.